Paul Romero - Early Life and Classical Piano

Early Life and Classical Piano

Romero taught himself to play the piano at age of three. He began his formal piano and composition training at the age of 9 and made his concert debut when he was 11, playing a Mozart piano concerto with the Santa Monica Symphony Orchestra. He composed his first original piano concerto at the age of 13. This concerto was premiered by the United States National Symphony Orchestra of Washington D.C. under Mstislav Rostropovich, with Romero as the piano soloist. The premiere took place at the Kennedy Center and was followed by an encore performance at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York City. The concert was televised around the world and brought him international attention as a young composing prodigy. The Yamaha music label recorded the concerts, a CD which is still available in Japan.

At the age of 16 he received a full college scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he studied composing under Pulitzer Prize winner, Ned Rorem. He also studied piano under Vladimir Sokoloff, Jorge Bolet, and Chamber music with members of the Guanari String quartet. He finished his musical training at the Conservatoire de Paris in France and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London England.

He has performed in cities such as Tokyo, London, Paris, New York and Washington D.C. Some of his concert highlights have been performances at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California, the Mexican Embassy in Washington D.C., the Palace of the France-Americique Institute in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, and two performances at the Gemeldiche Museum in Berlin, Germany as well as one performance at the Berliner Philharmonie. His latest CD, "An American In Paris", features his live performance in Paris of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.